


Speaking with Flowers

by Reid-Trash (WardenQueen666)



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Flower Language, Fluff, Fluffy McFlufferton, M/M, Moreid, Reid is a Dork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-07-15 08:36:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7215301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WardenQueen666/pseuds/Reid-Trash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Morgan's day started the same as usual, until he got to work. There, waiting for him on his desk, ware a few select flowers.<br/>This did not only happen once, but multiple times.<br/>With the help of others and the trusty internet, he deciphered their meanings.<br/>But, who could possibly be trying to convey their emotions in such a cryptic way?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Speaking with Flowers

If there was one thing Derek Morgan was used to, it was admirers. Women were always trying to flirt with him, whether it be in a bar or on a case. It was nothing new. However, he had never experienced an admirer within the workplace; especially one who would leave him flowers of all things.

The day had started the same as every day - He woke up, had breakfast, drove to work and sat down at his desk. That’s where things changed. Instead of a clear space waiting for him to place his laptop, there were two flowers, that were wrapped in ivy. One of them he knew; it was a daffodil. The other he wasn’t so sure. Morgan had seen many a flower in his time while living with his mother. They couldn’t afford much growing up, so his mother would pick up a flower every now and then to brighten the house. She never brought the same one twice.

He smiled, thinking back, but forced his attention back to the matter at hand. The flowers on his desk weren’t even in a proper arrangement. Seemingly, there was no connection between them. There was one person who might see the connection, though. With purpose, he strode across the building, aiming for a particular office that held the answer to all his problems. Opening the door, he peaked in, smirking, eyeing the occupied chair that was surrounded by computer screens. “Hey baby girl, I need a favour.”

“Please wait, your astounding oracle is just about to overtake Reid’s high score in Tetris.”

Morgan chuckled, watching as Garcia went to town on the arrow keys. He knew better than to interrupt her when she was on a mission, especially a gaming one. “Oh, damn it!” She threw her arms up in defeat, sighing. “I was so, so close.” Turning her chair to face the doorway, she grinned at the man standing there. “Garcia’s magical realm of virtual information is now open; how can I help you Sugar?”

Shrugging, slightly embarrassed, Morgan pulled the flowers out from behind his back. “So, I found these on my desk today. I can’t really find a link between them and it’s messin’ with my head. Got any ideas?”

Garcia gestured for him to come closer, so she could get a better look. “Huh… a Daffodil and a yellow Acacia wrapped in Ivy?”

“So that’s what that is? An Acacia?”

“Yeah, a yellow one that is.” A knowing smirk playing on her lips, Garcia looked up at her curious friend. “Looks like you’ve got an admirer.”

Morgan rolled his eyes, “Yeah, Mama. I kinda already guessed that much.”

“Oh my poor, sweet, innocent little sex god. You don’t quite get it.” Pointing to the flowers in turn, she explained, “the Ivy means friendship. So this person is a good friend of yours. The Yellow Acacia? Secret love. And the Daffodil? Unrequited Love.” Smiling softly, Garcia placed a light hand on his bicep, “Whoever this is, they don’t think you feel the same. And, well, they’ve accepted that fact. But, they want you to know so they can stop hiding.”

Morgan raised an eyebrow at her, “Since when did you speak flower language?”

“Since I drew it out of the hat of _‘weird and wonderful things to learn if you’re bored.’_ Trust me, it passes the time.”

Shaking his head, Morgan began to think. It still didn’t add up. “If they wanted me to know, then why use flowers? Why not just tell me?”

“It’s not that easy Sweetie.” Garcia folded her arms and regarded him with understanding eyes, “If they’ve been hiding it for a long time, they’re probably worried about how you’d react.” She shrugged, then pushed the flowers into Morgan’s chest. “You need to figure out why.”

Morgan stared down at the flowers in his grasp, specifically, the Ivy. _‘Friends huh?’_ He clenched them in his fist, gripping tightly. His mind filled with names and faces, none of which seemed to fit. _‘Who **are** you?’_

 

~*~*~*~

 

It had been a week since Morgan’s secret admirer had left their gift on his desk. In fact, thoughts of who, why and when still flooded his mind. When, was key. Hardly anyone was ever at work before him, and he was absolutely positive that whoever left the flowers was most _definitely_ not Hotch or Rossi.

He wasn’t left wondering for long, as he noticed another batch of colour on his desk that morning - a mixture of purples and pinks, tied with a white ribbon. This time, however, he only knew the name of one of them. It was a purple Pansy. He didn’t want to bother Garcia with this again, she was out with the flu. Thankfully, someone was walking his way, that could possibly be of help. “Yo, JJ. Can I ask you something?”

“What do you need?” She smiled at him, face glowing. Pregnancy was a good look on her. When she reached his desk, she giggled. “Again, Morgan?”

His eyes widened at her words, “what do you mean, again?”

“You told _Garcia_ , think about it.” She stood with her hands on her hips, looking down at him fondly. “What do you want to know?”

Morgan chuckled, of course Garcia had to tell someone. “I wanna know what these are, so I can look them up.” He pointed to the bunch of small, purple flowers and the oddly shaped pale pink ones, that seemed to be the centre of the arrangement.

“Well,” JJ moved to stand behind him, “the purple flowers are Heliotropes. And the pink? Honeysuckle.” She ran her fingers over the petals, “they are lovely, but I have no idea what the meanings are, sorry.”

“No problem, I got it from here. Thanks, JJ.” Morgan pushed the flowers to the side and booted up his laptop. JJ smiled and patted him on the shoulder before walking away, leaving him to his google searches.

It only took Morgan half an hour to come up with some accurate descriptions of what the flowers could mean, and it had his face burning intensely. The pansy was easy, it simply meant that Morgan was a constant in his admirers thoughts. Heliotropes had two meanings, devotion and faithfulness. His admirer was loyal to him. That, or they were calling him loyal. Maybe both? Morgan didn’t know. Honeysuckle, on the other hand, was the one that had him burning up. They symbolised bonds of love, generosity and devoted affection. Who ever this person was, they were an absolute dork.

Covering his mouth with his hand, Morgan snickered. He was getting more and more curious as to whom they were. Even if he didn’t return their affections, he would happily spend time with them. They reminded him of someone - someone he held dear. Cupping his forehead, Morgan hummed, staring down at the table. _‘Nah,’_ he thought, clearing his mind of the idea, _‘it couldn’t be.’_

Standing to leave for the board meeting, Morgan laid the flowers down gently, next to his laptop. He entered the round table room and was shocked at what met him. “Reid? What are you doin’ here so early?”

Reid looked up at Morgan, a false smile plastered on his face. He appeared nervous, fiddling with the corners of his case file. “Uh, Prentiss gave me a ride.” His eyes weighed heavy and his skin was pale. Veins were visible on the thin skin of his eyelids.

Morgan frowned and pulled up a chair next to him, “you ain’t been sleeping well, have you?”  

Reid looked down at his hands, shaking his head. He gripped the case file tight, taking slow, deep breaths. “You could say that.”

Sighing, Morgan lifted Reid’s chin with the tip of his index finger, “Hey, look at me.”

Reid did, eyebrows raised and jaw set. “We all have nightmares, i’ve told you this in the past. They do get easier. I’m always here if you need someone to talk to, alright?” He smiled, rubbing the pad of his thumb along the soft skin of Reid’s cheek, “this job can take it’s toll on anyone, but you don’t have to deal with it on your own.”

Reid’s eyes softened at the touch; his body physically relaxed. Returning Morgan’s smile with one of his own, Reid brought Morgan’s hand down to the table, and cupped it between his own. “Thank you, Morgan. You always know how to make me feel better.”

Morgan patted their joined hands with his free one, grinning. “Hey, that’s what friends are for right?”

For the second time that day, Reid’s smile was forced. This time, however, Morgan couldn’t figure out why.

 

~*~*~*~

 

“Man, i’m beat.” Morgan groaned, loosening his tie and unbuttoning his collar. His joints ached, muscles throbbing.

Rossi chuckled, “Chasing a spree killer on foot, halfway across Philadelphia will do that to a person.”

Laughing, Morgan replied “Bit of an exaggeration there, man.”

“True,” Rossi smirked, “maybe you’re just getting old.”

Morgan pushed against Rossi’s shoulder in jest, grinning in return. He hadn’t slept much that night, and that last case really took it out of him. All he wished for was a normal, boring day at work - he needed the rest. However, this didn’t seem to be the case. As they approached Morgan’s desk, his eyes fixated on the small bundle of light pinks and greens. Heart filling with relief, he took a seat. It had been a while since the last batch of flowers had appeared on his desk; he had started to miss the surprise.

Rossi raised an eyebrow at him, smirk still firmly in place. “Shall I leave you to it then?”

“Yeah, thanks Rossi.” Morgan didn’t even register Rossi leaving, as his mind was currently occupied with what was in front of him. One was obvious; it was a large, deep pink, rose. The others, not so much. Thanks to his trusty friend Google and a good 20 minutes of searching, he finally came up with the other two. The were Ficoides, more commonly referred to as the ‘Ice Plant,’ and Milkvetch flowers.

After bringing up the same website he had used last time, Morgan began searching for the meanings of these flowers. They didn’t exactly make up a bouquet, so each flower had to be important. Although, when he discovered their meanings, his mouth gaped. He had expected another sappy love note in the form of plants. What he got, on the other hand, was something much more profound. The Ficoides meant _‘your looks freeze me.’_ The rose showed appreciation and gratitude, or _‘Thank you for being in my life.’_ If the first two made his heart beat fast, the last one should have given Morgan a heart attack. Milkvetch flowers translate to _‘your presence softens my pains.’_

The thought that just by him being around could make a person feel better, Morgan just couldn’t comprehend. He was nothing special. Who could feel so strongly for him?

At that moment, his thoughts were interrupted by the boardroom door opening, showing two figures in the midst of conversation. Reid seemed to be confiding in JJ about something,if  her sympathetic gaze and his erratic hand gestures were anything to go by. It was at times like this when Morgan wished he could read lips. JJ had responded with a soft smile on her face, causing Reid to stare at his feet. Morgan stood, and made his way over to the two. JJ spotted him, nudging Reid in the shoulder, and gesturing towards where Morgan was heading in their direction. After gripping his forearm, JJ turned around and walked back into the boardroom, leaving the two men alone. “Hey, Pretty Boy. You doing alright?”

Reid rubbed up and down his arm, grinning nervously. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, i’m okay. Why?”

Morgan stood directly in front of him, raising an eyebrow. “Well, it just seemed that you and JJ were having a pretty intense talk back there. You looked pretty scared, so I was worried about you.”

“You were worried about me?” Tilting his head in confusion, Reid looked at Morgan, secretly amused by how he was ever able to become the same height as his macho coworker.

Morgan shrugged, smiling. “Of course I was worried about you, Kid. I would be a pretty crap guy if I didn’t.”

The words made Reid crack a smile, and Morgan feel accomplished. However, Reid’s eyes widened, looking past his friend’s shoulder. “Oh… You got flowers again?” Grinning sheepishly, looking anywhere but Morgan’s eyes.

Morgan eyed him curiously, also realising that once again, Reid had arrived at work before him. “Who dropped you at work this time?”

“Huh?”

Etching closer so that he didn’t have to speak to loudly, Morgan spoke under his breath, “Who dropped you at work?” His forehead creased in the centre, eyebrows coming together. “You’re never at work before me; hardly anyone is.”

“U-um,” Reid gulped, taking a small step backwards. “Hotch gave me a ride… What are you saying?”

“What i’m saying…” Morgan followed his step, smiling slightly, “is that whenever these flowers appear on my desk, you are coincidentally here early.” He folded his arms and his smile widened. “D’ya see what i’m saying?”

“I, uh. No.” Reid shook his head quickly, hands shaking. “No, I don’t know what you mean. I’m sorry, but I have to go. Work to do, you know? See you later.” He barged past his friend, hiding his face behind long, curly bangs; heading for the door before anyone could stop him.

“Reid! Hey!” Morgan went to follow him, but was stopped by a light hand on his bicep. He looked to his left to see Garcia looking at him sympathetically.

“Give him time, Sugar.” She shot him a reassuring smile, “He’ll be back.”

Staring longingly at door, Morgan frowned, feeling guilty for his blatant disregard of how Reid might feel about his actions. “Yeah… I hope so.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

Reid didn’t turn up for work the next day.

Morgan’s heart sank in his chest. He couldn’t stomach any breakfast, nor could he concentrate on his work. His stomach protested at its emptiness, but the nausea he felt was more powerful than his need to eat. Calls and texts went unanswered. Hotch said that Reid had called in sick.

He was thankful that the team left him alone that day.

Time passed slowly, and Morgan immersed himself in work. He was doing anything to take his mind off the matter at hand. Darkness descended over the office; Morgan was the last to leave. He was just packing up his stuff, when the door opened. He assumed that it was probably an agent coming to collect forgotten belongings. But, a subtle clearing of a throat convinced him otherwise. He looked up, finding a mop of curly brown hair and a lanky frame filling the doorway, hands behind their back. “Reid?” Morgan questioned, bemused by the sudden appearance of the man who was causing him so much heartache, “what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to apologise for the way I reacted yesterday.” Reid approached Morgan’s desk slowly, nerves telling him to turn tail and run at any moment. “I wasn’t expecting to be found out so quickly…”

“So I was right?” Morgan stood, walking around the front of his desk, meeting Reid halfway. “It was you?”

“Yeah… It was me.” Reid avoided Morgan’s gaze once again, looking down to his left. “I’ll understand if you don’t feel the same, but I had to finish what I started.” Raising his hand from behind his back, the shy doctor presented Morgan with one final flower. “It’s a red tulip. It means-”

“A declaration of love.” Morgan interrupted, a smile gracing his features; his eyes glassy.

“I… well yes. How did you-”

“I’ve done my research.” Shaking his head fondly, Morgan took one final step towards Reid, practically pressing their bodies together. He wrapped one arm around his waist and gazed into his eyes. With his free hand, he took the tulip from Reid’s own, clutching it tightly. “For a genius, you are really stupid.”

Reid couldn’t form full sentences. His mind was racing and his voice refused to cooperate. “I… You… What?”

Morgan chuckled, leaning so that their foreheads were against each other. “I feel the same, Spencer.”

Reid’s breath caught in his throat at the sound of his first name, eyes tearing up. His smile was uncontrollable, his small giggle almost inaudible. He looked into Morgan’s deep brown eyes, which were soft and full of truth. Reid almost looked away, feeling exposed, when he felt Morgan’s fingers wound their way into his hair, tulip still between them. They inched together, gingerly closing the gap between their lips. Morgan kissed him slowly, running his fingers through the strands of his hair, while rubbing soothing circles into his lower back. The kiss was soft and sweet; delicate and loving. It ended all too soon.

When they parted, Morgan refused to let him go straight away. He wished to just stare at Reid lovingly, smirking in kind.

Reid’s cheeks were flushed and his eyes dazed. He felt like he was in a dream. In fact, he was utterly convinced for a second before reality caught up with him. As a tear made its way down his cheek, he smiled, wrapping his arms around Morgan in a strong embrace.

Morgan laughed, burying his face in Reid’s shoulder. “You know,” he whispered huskily, pressing a kiss to the bare skin of Reid’s neck, “next time you want to ask me out, just say so.”

Reid held his new partner closer, chuckling. “Hey Derek?”

“Yeah?”

“You want to go to dinner some time?”

Morgan responded by pulling away, and planting a soft kiss on Reid’s forehead.

“Of course.” He smirked, leaning in until he was a few centimeters from Reid’s lips.

_**”I’ll even buy you flowers.”** _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!  
> This fic was based on a prompt I received on tumblr! 
> 
> You can find it here --> http://gabe-trash.tumblr.com/post/145928435907/how-about-reid-using-victorian-flower-language-to
> 
> Any and all feedback is welcome!  
> Thank you again!!  
> ~Char


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